To 12/24: The magic of 'Nutcracker'

Wonder and awe of children make classic ballet special

by Jennifer McClellan - Dec. 4, 2011 01:25 AMThe Arizona Republic

Two dozen little girls lined the hallway outside the costume department at Ballet Arizona's studios in Phoenix, waiting to be fitted for angel costumes made of silk organza, silk taffeta and hand-painted feathered wings.

The scene, at a Saturday rehearsal in November, looked like an angel-assembly line: Girls in pink tights and pastel and black leotards waited, hands at their sides. A few feet down the hall, others in halos and poufy yellow dresses marched out of the costume department, straightening their backs and walking tall to keep the floor-length skirts from dragging.

Studio decorum dictated that the young ladies be quiet and respectful, but still they hugged each other and twirled, beaming at their transformations.

The girls will perform during the second-act angel scene in Ballet Arizona's "The Nutcracker" at Phoenix's Symphony Hall as 6,000 pounds of dry ice -- that's the month's total -- helps create the illusion that they're dancing on clouds.

Across the hall, dancers Juliette Ochoa, 12, and Mia Domini, 10, were practicing steps for their shared role as Clara. Each was inspired to pursue ballet after seeing "The Nutcracker." They were enchanted by Tchaikovsky's score, captivated by the giant Christmas tree and smitten with the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Fairy tales aside, this all is part of "The Nutcracker" magic, its ability to transform little girls from velvet-dressed audience members one year into angel-winged ballerinas the next.

But the show's real allure -- the reason nearly every major company, from the New York City Ballet to the San Francisco Ballet, performs "The Nutcracker" to sold-out houses each year -- is its message that a child's wonder is the most precious gift of the season.

And like all the best gifts, this one is a labor of love, one measured in the grace and charm of 176 dancers shimmering in 100,000 Swarovski crystals and $45,000 worth of pointe shoes.

Perennial favorite

The ballet tells the story of Clara, who dreams her new nutcracker is a real prince who fights an evil Mouse King and sweeps her away to a land filled with dancing marzipan, swirling snowflakes and resplendent queens and kings.

In 1954, for the New York City Ballet, George Balanchine choreographed the classic Russian ballet in a more contemporary style and kept Tchaikovsky's score from 1892. Since then, like chocolates in a Christmas stocking, "The Nutcracker" has been a favorite of satin-sashed girls, bow-tied boys and the parents who bring them there each year.

"'The Nutcracker' is spectacle," said Kevin Warner, an associate professor in the department of dance at the College at Brockport, State University of New York.

"The magic of live theater -- to watch a Christmas tree grow and wonder how it's happening, to watch mice come out in headpieces that are both comical and scary, to see the gorgeous costumes the women wear, and to hear a piece of music and forever after associate it with a story -- is amazing."

'First-rate' production

In the Valley, "The Nutcracker" with the shiniest sparkles, the fairest fairies and the meanest mice is Ballet Arizona's, choreographed by Ib Andersen.

New York Times dance critic Alastair Macaulay called the production "first-rate" after seeing it last year during a nationwide "Nutcracker" marathon.

Ticket sales, averaging more than 40,000 seats a year, are the ballet's largest single source of income, covering about 30 percent of Ballet Arizona's budget.

Performed live with the Phoenix Symphony, the show has a splendor not lost even on doting dads who might be inclined to notice only their own tiny dancers.

"A lot of people don't realize how big the show is until they see it," said Matt Domini, who was waiting at the studio for his daughters, Gabriella and Mia, to finish rehearsal. "When they're there and see the costumes, the stage and symphony, they're wowed."

The costumes, created by New York-based designer Fabio Toblini during a $1.8 million redesign in 2007, are made of more than 65,000 yards of tulle, satin, silk and spandex.

For the flower costumes, Swarovski crystals are hand-sewn to the bodices, and the cropped tutus are fashioned out of dozens of individual fans of tulle. Onstage, under the spotlights, the costumes shimmer like morning light on budding flowers.

"It's my very favorite costume," said Chelsea Early, 23, whose dance roles include Dewdrop, the main flower in the "Waltz of the Flowers."

"It's so pretty," she said with an honest-to-goodness giggle. "I like the lighter colors because they glow more in the spotlights."

From the opening party scene to the final waltz, more than two dozen backdrops transition across the stage. During the "Waltz of the Snowflakes," one of the company's most mesmerizing scenes, more than 100,000 Swarovski crystals glitter in the background as a whiteout of faux snow -- 100 pounds of paper snow per show -- blankets the stage..

"It looks effortless," Ochoa said. "That's what makes it amazing, all the little things that go into making it look perfect."

Lots of help

More than 300 people help make sure Clara gets to the the Land of Sweets, including dance directors, extra box-office staff and 36 professional dancers, each of whom performs at least three roles.

But "The Nutcracker's" biggest magic comes from the children, both onstage and in the audience.

Onstage at Symphony Hall, 140 children, ages 9 to 16, perform in one of three casts: red, gold or green. They dance on different days so that they don't exhaust themselves, and so more budding dancers get a chance to show off. Children are cast as leads Clara and her brother, Fritz, as well as soldiers, party children, Bon Bons and angels.

Ballerina Jessica Phillips was 8 when she first saw the Nutcracker defeat the Mouse King during a small production in Clear Lake, Texas. A girl who played soccer, volleyball and basketball, Phillips "fell in love with dancing" during the show.

"I was usually really jittery as a kid," said Phillips, 20, of Phoenix. "I remember I sat through the whole thing mesmerized by the tutus and the Sugar Plum Fairies."

Now, for the third time as a professional, Phillips will dance several roles for Ballet Arizona, including as a snowflake in the "Waltz of the Snowflakes," as a flower in the "Waltz of the Flowers," and as a marzipan dancer in the Land of Sweets.

"'The Nutcracker' took me away, and it was better than a movie because it was live," Phillips said. "It's about getting swept away, for both the dancer and the audience."

For Lorrie Budinger, 41, of Mesa, the excitement of "The Nutcracker" is as much about who's sitting next to her as it is about who's onstage.

She goes with her daughter, Amber, 11, to see Ballet Etudes' production at the Mesa Arts Center. The two haven't missed a visit to the Land of Sweets -- their favorite scene -- since Amber was 4.

Each year, Amber gets a new dress. It's usually red, but this year it's blue and black. They go to a Sunday matinee after church; Dad stays home with Amber's little brother.

They always buy seats in the middle of the theater because the one year they sat in the front row, the dry ice nearly froze them. In the lobby, they pick out a new snow globe from one of the vendors to add to their collection.

"For me, it's a special thing that my daughter and I do together," Budinger said. "I can't imagine missing it."